By Lei Chenxi and Zhao Xuelin
雷晨曦 趙學(xué)林
It is reported that the US, the UK and Australia recently agreed to relax their restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment and exempt some military products from export licensing among themselves. This is believed to mark a substantial step forward in the three countries' cooperation on nuclear submarine and advanced military technologies under the AUKUS framework, drawing close attention from all parties.
據(jù)報(bào)道，美國(guó)、英國(guó)和澳大利亞近日就放寬各自武器裝備出口管制達(dá)成一致，同意相互免除部分軍品出口許可審批。此舉被視為美英澳三國(guó)在“奧庫(kù)斯”框架下，實(shí)質(zhì)性推動(dòng)核潛艇及先進(jìn)軍事技術(shù)合作的重要一步，引發(fā)各方高度關(guān)注。
Ever since the three countries formed the AUKUS, London and Canberra have been urging Washington to further relax its restrictions on technology export and information sharing. America's International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) vigorously restricts the transfer and export of technologies and the export of military products to all countries, including its allies. In the beginning, Washington agreed in principle to share relevant technology and information pertaining to nuclear-powered submarines in the AUKUS framework. Yet it has exercised great caution and reservation in the provision of equipment, technology and information concerning hypersonic weapons and underwater combat capabilities, and didn't release news about a new rule until recently. The US Department of State issued a statement on August 15 that as the US believes the UK and Australia have adopted equivalent export restrictions to its own and offered mutual export exemption, the US side will soon launch a new rule to amend the ITAR, whereby it will export military products to the UK and Australia without licensing.
自美英澳三國(guó)宣布組建“奧庫(kù)斯”以來(lái)，英國(guó)和澳大利亞便一直在推動(dòng)美國(guó)進(jìn)一步放寬技術(shù)出口和信息共享管制措施。美國(guó)通過(guò)制定《國(guó)際武器貿(mào)易條例》，對(duì)技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓和出口許可設(shè)置限制條件，對(duì)包括盟友在內(nèi)的所有國(guó)家實(shí)施嚴(yán)格的軍品出口限制。盡管在合作之初，美國(guó)已原則上同意在“奧庫(kù)斯”框架下分享潛艇核動(dòng)力相關(guān)技術(shù)和信息，但在提供包括高超聲速武器、水下作戰(zhàn)能力等裝備技術(shù)和相關(guān)信息方面，美國(guó)始終持謹(jǐn)慎保留態(tài)度，直到近期才正式發(fā)布了有關(guān)新規(guī)則的消息。美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院8月15日發(fā)表聲明稱，鑒于美國(guó)認(rèn)定英國(guó)和澳大利亞采取了同美國(guó)相當(dāng)?shù)某隹诠苤企w系，并為美國(guó)提供了互惠出口豁免，美方將很快出臺(tái)一項(xiàng)新規(guī)則，以修改《國(guó)際武器貿(mào)易條例》，并對(duì)英國(guó)和澳大利亞免除軍品出口許可審批。
The new rule is expected to significantly streamline the process for the US to export military products to the two countries. Records show that the US Department of State used to sign the export license for about 3,800 pieces of military products each year for Australia in accordance with ITAR, with the license taking up to 18 months to obtain. Now the new rule will exempt over 70% of the military products exported to Australia from licensing, and the time needed to get the license for those unexempted products will be largely shortened.
在新規(guī)則的推動(dòng)下，預(yù)計(jì)未來(lái)美國(guó)向英國(guó)和澳大利亞出口軍品的流程將大幅簡(jiǎn)化。資料顯示，美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院每年根據(jù)《國(guó)際武器貿(mào)易條例》為澳大利亞簽發(fā)約3800份軍品出口許可證，審批時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)可達(dá)18個(gè)月。而根據(jù)修訂后的新規(guī)則，美國(guó)出口到澳大利亞的軍品中，超過(guò)七成將不再需要許可證。即使仍需許可證的軍品，其審批流程也將大幅縮短。
At the same time, over 80% of the dual-purpose goods and low-intensity military products under the administration of the US Department of Commerce will be exempt from export licensing for Australia too. All three members of AUKUS view this as a major step towards their cooperation. The US Department of State said the new rule will facilitate military trade worth up to billions of US dollars among the three countries, integrate their innovative capabilities, and consolidate the foundation for their defense industry.
同時(shí)，在由美國(guó)商務(wù)部負(fù)責(zé)管理的軍民兩用物品和低烈度軍品出口許可方面，八成以上的出口也將對(duì)澳大利亞實(shí)施許可豁免。美英澳三國(guó)都將此舉視為推動(dòng)“奧庫(kù)斯”合作的重要一步。美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院稱，新規(guī)則將促進(jìn)“奧庫(kù)斯”合作伙伴之間數(shù)十億美元的軍貿(mào)合作，整合三國(guó)的創(chuàng)新能力并加強(qiáng)各自的國(guó)防工業(yè)基礎(chǔ)。
What the international community should beware of is that America's relaxation of export restrictions on weapons and equipment not only has opened a gate for the AUKUS members to share advanced weapons and equipment and sensitive technologies, but will also lend a heavy blow to the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.
需要警惕的是，美國(guó)放寬武器裝備出口限制的這些舉措，為“奧庫(kù)斯”成員國(guó)分享先進(jìn)武器裝備及敏感技術(shù)打開了方便之門，進(jìn)而對(duì)國(guó)際防擴(kuò)散體系造成更大沖擊。
The AUKUS has two pillars – one is the Virginia-class nuclear submarine sold by the US to Australia and the next-generation submarine to be jointly built by the UK and Australia; the other is the three members' coordinated development of advanced technologies and their accelerated application in the military domain.
“奧庫(kù)斯”由兩大支柱組成，第一支柱是先由美國(guó)向澳大利亞出售“弗吉尼亞”級(jí)核潛艇，并由英澳共同建造下一代核潛艇；第二支柱則是推動(dòng)三國(guó)先進(jìn)技術(shù)協(xié)同發(fā)展，并加速其軍事領(lǐng)域應(yīng)用。
Previously, the high threshold for sharing cutting-edge technologies set by the US has prevented progress on their cooperation on the second pillar. But now the export exemption will pave the way for their quickened technological collaboration in such areas as AI, hypersonic weapons, and underwater combat. Moreover, as the US will sell at least three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia starting from the beginning of the 2030s, the new rule will also facilitate the export of relevant carrier-borne weapons and equipment.
此前，由于美國(guó)對(duì)尖端技術(shù)共享設(shè)立極高門檻，三國(guó)在第二支柱方面的合作進(jìn)展有限。此次三國(guó)武器裝備及技術(shù)出口豁免，將為“奧庫(kù)斯”成員國(guó)加快包括人工智能、高超聲速、水下作戰(zhàn)等領(lǐng)域技術(shù)合作鋪平道路。此外，鑒于美國(guó)還將在本世紀(jì)30年代初開始向澳大利亞出售至少3艘“弗吉尼亞”級(jí)核潛艇，新規(guī)則也將為相關(guān)艇載武器裝備出口提供便利。
Ever since the formation of AUKUS, the US, the UK, and Australia have kept pushing their cooperation on nuclear submarines and other advanced military technologies in the name of preserving security and stability in the Asia Pacific. In fact, their actions have only aggravated the resurgence of the Cold War mentality and gravely damaged regional peace and stability. The Asian Pacific region is a land of peaceful development, not a chessboard for geopolitical games. The three countries must abandon their Cold War mentality, stop bloc confrontation as soon as possible and do something truly conducive to peace and stability in the region and beyond.
自“奧庫(kù)斯”聯(lián)盟宣布成立以來(lái)，美英澳三國(guó)打著維護(hù)亞太安全穩(wěn)定的幌子，不斷推進(jìn)核潛艇及其他先進(jìn)軍事技術(shù)合作，加劇冷戰(zhàn)思維回潮，嚴(yán)重危害地區(qū)和平穩(wěn)定。亞太地區(qū)應(yīng)是和平發(fā)展的沃土，而不是地緣政治的棋局，三國(guó)理應(yīng)早日摒棄冷戰(zhàn)思維、停止陣營(yíng)對(duì)抗，切實(shí)維護(hù)地區(qū)及國(guó)際和平與穩(wěn)定。
(The author is from CNNC Strategic Planning Research Institute)
（作者單位：中核戰(zhàn)略規(guī)劃研究總院）
